The Final Stand: FlyQuest eSports Stares Down The Gauntlet

FlyQuest eSports narrowly avoided the North American League Championship Series Promotion Tournament with a 2-1 series victory over Team Liquid, keeping alive their World Championship aspirations. With a victory for Counter Logic Gaming in the first round of the Summer Playoffs, FlyQuest can secure an opportunity to run the gauntlet for NA’s last spot at the World Championships.

After placing fourth in their inaugural Split in the NA LCS, FlyQuest has fallen back to earth this split with a 6-12 record that dropped them to a seventh place finish.

The heralded arrival of former Team SoloMid AD Carry Jason “WildTurtle” Tran was supposed to boost the roster into contention for the top spot, but unfortunately for FlyQuest fans, the split played out far from how the organization had intended.

Source: Riot Games

WildTurtle has been a solid addition to the FlyQuest roster, but the weaknesses of other individuals on the roster have begun to take their toll.

With one of the worst top laners and supports in the NA LCS, the crisp macro rotations and aggressive early games that FlyQuest had been known for in the Spring Split were no longer enough, as the rest of the NA LCS continued to synergize and improve.

As disappointing as the Summer Split has been, all hope is not been lost for FlyQuest to reach their ultimate goal of the World Championships.

After they avoided the Promotion Tournament to remain eligible for the gauntlet, FlyQuest only needs the third seeded CLG to prevail over the sixth seeded Team EnVyUs to earn a spot in the NA LCS gauntlet.

Source; Riot Games

For most of FlyQuest, starting from the bottom of the gauntlet will be nothing new. As members of Cloud9, Hai “Hai” Du Lam, Daerek “LemonNation” Hart, and An “Balls” Le all participated in an incredible run through the gauntlet that earned Cloud9 NA’s final position at the Season 5 World Championship.

Faced with repeating their accomplishment as members of FlyQuest, there is no squad more qualified to overcome the daunting task.

With franchising on the horizon, FlyQuest remains an organization in question when it comes to receiving a permanent partner position.

Their performance in the gauntlet could play heavily into whether FlyQuest are granted a position, and a poor showing could severely damage those chances. An early exit from the gauntlet could be their final act as a member of the NA LCS.

Unfortunately for FlyQuest, their chances look grim in the gauntlet. The top tier of teams in the NA LCS have begun to separate themselves and FlyQuest appears to be more than a few steps behind.

With a combination of at least two teams from Cloud9, TSM, CLG, and the first place Immortals guaranteed to be seeded higher in the gauntlet, FlyQuest’s chances of advancing far in the gauntlet are bleak.

For multiple members of the FlyQuest roster, this could be the end of their playing careers should they choose to retire at the end of the split. With poor chances at advancing in the gauntlet and the likelihood of not receiving a permanent partner position, this is FlyQuest eSports final stand.